by Basilio Mura, Nor Easter Correspondent

19/4-The Triumvirate is left with numerous unanswered questions this week, after the Empress of Nor Easter received reports that Nor Easter’s favorite ex-power couple, the alchemist and industrialist Rigel Rinkenbach and on again/off again N.E.S.S. Agent Pixie Sinclaire were reportedly seen escaping from a Djidanni oil interest minutes before it exploded.

The explosion occurred in the early morning hours last Friday. Witnesses to the incident report seeing two individuals matching the descriptions of Rinkenbach and Sinclaire fleeing the area before the well erupted into a gout of flame. Given Sinclaire’s record of service as a saboteur during the war with Crowndon, and Rinkenbach’s inextricable connection to Blackwood, it isn’t difficult to establish a motive for the incident and the expertise needed to carry it out.

What is difficult to understand, however, is how these events came to be. When last we heard of Rinkenbach, he’d been absconded with by kidnappers wearing the same blue uniforms as those worn by the Arms Summit attackers. As for Pixie Sinclaire, she was last seen in the colonies, and according to several sources was part of ongoing operations there. Further, none of this takes into account how the two came to be working together, considering their messy personal history, as documented by Nor Easter’s most salacious tabloids.

The incident has sparked a massive manhunt across Sarnwain, regardless of how the pieces do or don’t fit together, and separate three million Inter-Imperial scrip bounties have been placed on Sinclaire and Rinkenbach’s heads. The Primarch of Pharassus is said to be enraged, calling for Nor Easter to explain the actions of its citizens under threat of war.

The Empress, as is to be expected, denied any knowledge on the Empire’s part of this alleged sabotage, citing Rinkenbach’s official status as missing and reminding us all, once again, that the Nor Eastern Subterfuge Society is dormant during peace time.

One can only hope that such ‘official’ responses will be enough to stem the Primarch’s wrath. Regardless, the Triumvirate Authority is said to be preparing its fleets to take action should the need arise.